episode_0027

Entrepreneur

“…”

(swish, swish, swish)

Arthur sat in the office, wearing glasses and working on documents.

(thud!)

“Boss!”

“Hmm?”

As Hashimoto burst through the door, Arthur, who had run over, looked at him, out of breath.

“Gasp! Gasp! We have a guest!!”

“…Use the phone, so who is it?”

.

.

.

.

(clink!)

Numerous machines lined up in the casino, and a man sitting at one of the machines pulled the lever.

(ring-a-ling-a-ling!)

“…”

[♠5][♣3][♠9][♥4][♥6]

“Ah!!”

As he missed the straight by just one number, Nam-sa let out a sigh.

“Is this rigged?”

“I doubt it.”

Arthur said, sitting next to him.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Donald.”

Arthur greeted Donald, the head of the Devil Colosseum.

“I heard you recruited that friend of Hashimoto’s.”

“Well… yes. He’s quite capable.”

(swish, swish, swish)

Men wearing leather jackets with the mark of the Devil Colosseum surrounded Arthur and Donald.

“He was the only smart guy under Monkey Spanner. He’s now working under you with the remnants of the Monkey Spanner family… I didn’t think he’d do that.”

“…”

This person is also the head of the criminal organization dominating Zone F. He’s not someone you can underestimate.

“I’ve come up with several hypotheses. The first is that Hashimoto and his remnants have been hired by you for a fresh start.”

“…”

“Of course, it’s nonsense. Trash like them can’t be recycled, I know that well. Then the second, you are actually the boss here, and you’re building your power to survive Mad Hatter.”

Hmm, that’s not a bad inference.

“But… Well, the possibility is high, and others think that’s the answer, but I don’t.”

“?”

“Hashimoto saw potential in you. That’s my conclusion.”

“……”

Half of it is the right answer. No, it’s just the right answer. Hashimoto stuck with me because I’m Mad Hatter. So, it’s the right answer.

“Then let me ask, whose side are you on?”

“…”

“So that’s what it comes down to.”

“Haha, where do you think my allegiance lies?”

“Then I’ll be straightforward. Be on my side.”

“…”

“I like talented people, and in my opinion, you are competent. Upon closer inspection, it seems like you’ve already perfectly seized control of the Monkey Spanner family’s remnants.”

“It’s about money. I pay them wages. That’s enough for them.”

“Haha! No! I know they value money the most in the world, but that alone doesn’t earn their loyalty. I’ve seen what’s in their eyes. And that’s something I know very well.”

(Swish)

Donald covered his eyes with his finger.

“Terror.”

“…”

“You showed them fear, imprinted fear on those under the villain. How exactly did you do it?”

“I have my own know-how.”

“Hehehe, is that a trade secret?”

“…”

This guy came prepared.

“So the answer is?”

“I have no side. I’m just a commoner who wants to live quietly.”

“I really hate that.”

(Poke)

Donald pointed at Arthur with his finger.

“Most of those who claimed neutrality in the last war ended up siding with Anderson.”

“…”

“So now, it seems necessary to be sure whether you’re on my side or not.”

“…”

“Darn it.”

“So tell me, are you my enemy? Or are you an ally?”

“…That depends on whether it benefits you, Mr. Donald.”

“Ha ha ha!! Trying to gauge me?”

Donald, who had been staring blankly at Arthur’s response, burst into laughter.

“If you come under me, I’ll give you the position of second-in-command.”

“!!”

“!!”

The organization members surrounding Arthur and Donald were taken aback and turned around.

“I’m just a casino owner.”

“I was just a supermarket owner’s son.”

“…”

“I can’t answer any other way. I’m not on anyone’s side.”

“Then you’re an enemy.”

(Swift footsteps)

The organization members approached Arthur as he spoke.

“The lesson from the last war was to eliminate enemies as quickly as possible.”

“Is this my casino?”

“So what?”

(Slam!)

The second floor of the casino, Arthur’s subordinates in black suits swiftly surrounded them from below. If he were to shoot, it would be a position where he could quickly kill Donald and his subordinates.

“I’m also the type to get rid of enemies quickly.”

(Bang!!)

Subordinates also flocked around Arthur on the first floor.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Above all, if I die here, someone will be inconvenienced.”

“Anderson?”

“No, someone who dresses well.”

“……”

Donald could tell who Arthur was talking about.

“How much is the tribute my casino pays him every month?”

It’s not wrong. Because I’m the Mad Hatter, the casino gives money to the Mad Hatter.

“Mr. Donald, are we enemies?”

“…”

(Snicker)

Donald chuckled softly at Arthur’s question.

“Potential allies.”

“Boss, are you serious?”

“About what?”

“Giving that guy the position of second-in-command.”

“That guy? Who, that kid? Hahaha!”

At the retainer’s words, Donald laughed.

“I guarantee that guy has killed more people than you.”

“…”

As the right-hand man of Donald, the leader of Devil Colosseum, he had blood on his hands. He could certainly boast of belonging to the side that committed many murders in this area, if not the entire Union City.

And knowing that fact, the retainer could only be bewildered by the statement that Donald had killed more people than himself.

“Living on this ground for a lifetime and eating with that Anderson guy, I just saw how much crime this human has committed. How many people he killed. What he’s thinking. That guy really wanted to kill me.”

“…Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yeah, it’s better to cut it off before it grows big.”

“Then should we mobilize the members right now-”

“But, I wonder, hasn’t it grown yet?”

“……”

“Still, do you think a guy who perfectly absorbed the executives of an organization that dominated a district and the remnants under those executives is still an unsprouted sapling? I don’t think so.”

(Swish)

Donald put the cigarette in his mouth.

“That kid is already a finished product. And a damn perfect one.”

Donald, who lit a cigarette, leaned back and exhaled smoke.

“You don’t have to make someone who might not be an enemy into an enemy.”

Donald, the leader of the Devil Colosseum, was surrounded by foolish people, but he was not one of them.

“Whew, thought my heart was going to stop.”

At the entrance to the casino, a guard in a suit put his hand on his heart and said, “I really thought we were in a war.”

“Hey, who are those guys?”

“Who?”

“You know, the ones who appeared at the boss’s command.”

“Oh… you weren’t there.”

“?”

“We don’t know for sure, but they’re definitely highly trained killing machines.”

“I saw those guys shooting.”

“How was it?”

As one guard began to speak, other guards, who used to be members of the Monkeyspanner family, gathered around.

“Adding a bit of exaggeration, I thought it was a special forces unit at first.”

“Is that so?”

“…Wait a minute.”

A guard who had seen something tapped the others.

“Hmm?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“What’s that over there?”

The guards’ attention turned to where the guard was pointing.

As a man walked toward the casino, he held a balloon in his hand.

As the man got closer, it became clear that his head was not a human head but a balloon.

(Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!)

The guards recognized the man’s identity and pulled out their guns.

“Stop right there!”

They shouted with trembling voices.

(Slowly)

The man stopped at the guard’s shout.

“Do you know me?”

The man holding the balloon asked the guard.

“…Miss… Mister Balloon.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

(Snap)

The man with the balloon snapped his fingers.

(Whoosh!)

At the same time, a strong wind blew through the guards’ hands, and the guns flew away.

(Slowly)

The man walked through the disarmed guards. They couldn’t even turn their heads as he passed by.

“Ah”

(Swoosh)

The man who passed the bodyguards turned around.

“Where can I exchange my chips?”

“It’s scary how you come out of nowhere.”

*click*

Arthur in the study loaded his gun and said,

*click! clack!!*

Beside him, Jim was fiddling with a sniper rifle.

“If you give the signal, I’ll shoot right away.”

“Are you okay alone?”

“I’ll manage somehow.”

With that, Arthur finished speaking and left the study, walking away.

“…Should I smile or look serious?”

“Yes?”

In the elevator, Hashimoto responded to Arthur’s question,

“Your expression, when you see Mr. Balloon’s face.”

“…I don’t know.”

[Smile]

Hector’s voice came through the earphones,

“Since he’s an A-class villain anyway, does it matter what the person in front of him looks like?”

“Well, he probably doesn’t care about me.”

“Yes?”

*tap tap*

Arthur tapped Hashimoto, who didn’t understand his words, to let him know what he said to the person on the other end of the earphones.

“Ah.”

“Then let’s go.”

Inside the casino filled with various machines, despite the unusual operating hours, there were no people.

*clunk!*

Normally bustling, the silence flowed, and as a result, the sound of the lever being pulled echoed throughout the casino.

*ding ding ding ding! tick, tick, tick,*

“Oh, I lost again.”

“Hello.”

Approaching Mr. Balloon, an A-class villain spinning the roulette machine, Arthur greeted him.

“Are you the owner here?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Don’t be nervous, I’m not here to see him. I heard this casino is protected by Mad Hatter?”

“What…”

“Pretend you don’t know. I asked where to find Mad Hatter, and they told me to come here.”

“…Who…”

“It doesn’t matter who.”

*whoosh*

Mr. Balloon turned his chair to look at Arthur.

Thanks to a balloon covering his neck and possibly even his entire face, or perhaps the balloon itself, and the moving expressions displayed in real-time on the front of that balloon, he could tell that this man was looking at him.

“So, can I see Mad Hatter?”

“For what purpose…”

“Just as fellow A-class villains, it’s good for us to get to know each other, isn’t it? Oh, but I guess I don’t have a face?”

Mr. Balloon touched his balloon face and said, “When I look closely, it’s not really a balloon head, but rather a kind of helmet similar to a balloon.”

“I will deliver the message…”

“But wait a moment.”

“?”

“Are you the boss here?”

“Yes, but…”

“It’s strange. Why do I feel familiar?”

“…I’m just an ordinary businessman.”

Seems like he’s involved with a troublesome person.